Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 751 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,938 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 751 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $27,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,349 shares of company stock valued at $21,372,994 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $567.36 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $578.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $559.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $512.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $630.89.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.